Post Reports

The photos of top-secret Pentagon documents first started appearing online on Discord, a chat platform popular with gamers. But where did they come from? And just how many military secrets do they contain? Read more:Last week, reports surfaced that a trove of classified documents was leaked on a number of social media platforms. The documents cover worldwide intelligence briefings, assessments of Ukraine’s defense capabilities, and the highly classified methods the United States uses to collect information. But were these documents real? U.S. officials who spoke to The Washington Post said that some of the materials did not appear forged. Still, some documents appeared to be manipulated, including data from the Ukraine war that suggested Russian casualties were not as high as reported.Today on the show, national security reporter Alex Horton walks through the origin of the leaked documents, how the Justice Department is investigating these revelations, and what consequences these could have for the war in Ukraine, and the rest of the world.

Late Friday, two conflicting rulings threw a key abortion medication’s FDA approval into question. Today on Post Reports, we break down the legal confusion and talk about what could happen next.  At the center of this unprecedented legal clash is mifepristone, a drug that is part of a two-step abortion pill regimen used by millions of people. A federal judge in Texas blocked the FDA’s longtime approval of the drug. Less than an hour later, another federal judge, in Washington state, ordered that the drug remain available in a swath of states. The dueling cases are creating confusion and questions about the future of medication abortion in America. Today on “Post Reports,” legal affairs reporter Ann Marimow walks through the cases and what they mean. Read more: A Texas abortion pill ruling threatens the FDA.Can I still get a medication abortion?In a divided nation, dueling decisions on an abortion pill. Don’t miss a chance to experience “Post Reports” live! “Post Reports” senior host Martine Powers will be in conversation with author Curtis Sittenfeld at Sixth & I in Washington at 7 p.m. on April 13. Get tickets here.

An especially risky kind of virus hunting aims to identify new viruses in animals that have yet to jump to humans. Imagine trips to distant caves and wrangling bats to pull blood and DNA samples. The hope is to use that knowledge to be a step ahead and develop therapeutics and surveillance that could help prevent a future outbreak or, worse yet, a deadly pandemic from erupting.But a year-long Post investigation by David Willman and Joby Warrick has found that such research may be putting the world at greater risk for the very thing it’s trying to contain, as a result of potential leaks and accidents in the wild and in the labs. The Post discovered that the world lacks oversight for such high-risk research, yet a main driver of its expansion in recentyears has been the United States. Experts within the administration have been raising red flags.The covid-19 pandemic, Willman and Warrick continue, is forcing difficult and uncomfortable conversations around doing such research and how to responsibly prepare for and prevent the next big pathogen threat to humans.“There are thoughtful, well-informed scientific experts who are saying, ‘look, it’s time for a reckoning. We have observable lessons from the pandemic. We need to apply those,’” Willman tells Post Reports.Read more: How controls on ‘gain of function’ experiments with supercharged pathogens have been undercut despite concerns about lab leaks.NIH biosecurity advisers urge tighter oversight of pathogen researchLab-leak fears are putting virologists under scrutinyWhat we know about the origin of covid-19 and what remains a mystery. Don’t miss a chance to experience Post Reports live! Post Reports senior host Martine Powers will be in conversation with author Curtis Sittenfeld at Sixth & I in Washington, D.C., at 7 p.m. on April 13. Get tickets here.

What is it like to leave a country in crisis - only to return years later to a devastated homeland? Today, a Post photojournalist journeys back to Iraq after 24 years. Read more:Salwan Georges, a photojournalist at The Post, left Iraq more than two decades ago. Georges and his family spent five years in Syria as refugees, eventually settling in Detroit, Mich. As The Post prepared to cover the 20th anniversary of the Iraq war, Georges traveled back to his homeland for the first time since leaving. Through his camera lens, he rediscovered the Baghdad he left behind, and the sites of familial joy and tragedy that had long been left to imagination. Today on the show, Georges talks about his homecoming and what it meant to return to Iraq as a photojournalist. You can view Georges’s photo essay, “The Iraq I Never Knew,” here. The Post Reports team has two pieces of exciting news to share. First, we’ve been nominated for four Webby Awards, including best hosts. If you like the show, please consider voting for us! You can learn more about the Webby Awards and vote for our show here.Second, don’t miss a chance to experience Post Reports live. Post Reports senior host Martine Powers will be in conversation with author Curtis Sittenfeld at Sixth & I in Washington, D.C., at 7 p.m. on April 13th. Get tickets here.

Many American cities are being gentrified — and getting Whiter. Today on “Post Reports,” we go to Denver to see how the city has changed and what longtime residents are doing about it.Read more:As the United States is getting more diverse, the opposite has been happening in American cities over the past decade. In some cities, local governments have invested more money in public infrastructure such as parks and transportation to attract residents as developers have built new upscale apartment buildings. Based on an analysis of census data by The Post, Marissa Lang and her colleagues took a closer look at four U.S. cities to understand the different ways that gentrification is changing life for residents.One of these cities was Denver, where Marissa spent time with politicians and residents who are fighting to prevent displacement and heard about what it’s been like to see their city change rapidly in shape and demographics.    Don’t miss a chance to experience “Post Reports” live! “Post Reports” senior host Martine Powers will be in conversation with author Curtis Sittenfeld at Sixth & I in D.C. at 7 p.m. on April 13. Get tickets here.

Finland just joined NATO. Sweden is waiting in the wings. Will this beefed-up security alliance — a direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — be enough to keep President Vladimir Putin at bay? Read more:On Monday, Finland officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) making it the 31st member of the alliance. Finland, which historically stayed neutral throughout the Cold War, felt inspired to join after witnessing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and they’re not the only country that has asked to join. Sweden has also requested to join NATO, but their application has faced resistance from Turkey.Today on Post Reports, Brussels bureau chief Emily Rauhala explains the significance of Finland’s ascent into NATO, and what that could mean for European security and the relationship between Western countries and Russia at a critical moment in the war in Ukraine.Plus, check out Post Reports in person: best-selling author Curtis Sittenfeld is in conversation with host Martine Powers in Washington, D.C. Join the discussion live at Sixth & I or take advantage of the virtual live stream.

Former president Donald Trump was arraigned Tuesday for hush money payments made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. Here’s what that means politically for the GOP and Trump.Read more:Former president Donald Trump is still campaigning and collecting contributions even though he surrendered to authorities today in New York. Post reporter Michael Scherer examines what the indictment might mean for the Republican Party. He also explains how Trump is capitalizing on the media attention of this unprecedented moment.

Former Fugees rapper Pras is on trial for conspiracy, money laundering and acting as a foreign agent. The case, involving celebrities and political figures, is a small part of a bigger scandal: the $4.5 billion theft from the Malaysian government.Read more:Leonardo DiCaprio. Steve Bannon. Kim Kardashian. All of these people are somehow connected to a trial stemming from one of the biggest financial scams in history: the $4.5 billion theft from the 1MDB Malaysian government fund. Prakazrel “Pras” Michél, a Grammy-winning rapper formerly of the Fugees, is on trial for conspiracy, money laundering and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Michél has pleaded not guilty.Federal prosecutors allege Michél received money from Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, who has been charged with numerous federal crimes related to pilfering the development fund and himself is a fugitive from justice. Michél’s trial will focus on two alleged schemes: whether the former rapper funneled money from Low to the Obama campaign using straw donors, and whether he helped Low in a plot to influence the Trump White House in deporting a Chinese dissident, Guo Wengui.Many people connected to this scandal have already pleaded guilty. Michél, who faces many years in prison, will be on trial for weeks. His lawyers have said the former rapper was an amateur diplomat and political novice unfamiliar with campaign donation rules who was only trying to help his country by brokering a deal involving Guo’s extradition.“At its core, what this case is about and what all the offshoot cases are about, is the Justice Department trying to hold people accountable for what they describe as this massive theft from the Malaysian people,” says criminal justice editor Matt Zapotosky, who has followed this case for years.Plus, check out Post Reports in person: best-selling author Curtis Sittenfeld is in conversation with host Martine Powers in Washington, D.C. Join the discussion live at Sixth & I or take advantage of the virtual live stream.

Former president Donald Trump has been indicted. Today, how the case could test the limits of our political and legal systems.Read more:A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former president Donald Trump, making him the first person in U.S. history to serve as commander in chief and then be charged with a crime, and setting the stage for a 2024 presidential contest unlike any other.The indictment was sealed, which means the specific charge or charges are not publicly known. But the grand jury had been hearing evidence about money paid to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.Washington Post reporter Devlin Barrett says charging a former president with a crime will be the ultimate test of our legal and political systems. Today on the show, Barrett walks us through what we know about the indictment, and what could happen next as this landmark legal battle begins. 

As loneliness rates spike, more people are getting romantically and emotionally attached to artificial intelligence bots. Today, we report on what it’s like to fall in love with software (and what happens when it breaks your heart).Read more:T.J. Arriaga lost so many family members around the time when he downloaded Replika. The artificial intelligence company allows people to customize AI bots that they can chat with. In Arriaga’s case, he fell in love with his chat bot Phaedra. The 40-year-old musician is not alone. Innovations reporter Pranshu Verma talked with several people among the thousands who say they’ve developed emotional or romantic relationships with one of Replika’s AI bots, including engaging in erotic role play.But, when the company updated its software to be more “sanitized,” users who were attached to their AI bots experienced heartbreak, among other conundrums.On today’s Post Reports, why more and more people are falling in love with AI products. And, the ethics behind these relationships.